


Hello!! I can't speak French!

by fairydustedtheory



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Deputy Derek Hale, Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, french speaking characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23359456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairydustedtheory/pseuds/fairydustedtheory
Summary: Stiles' phone gets stolen while on a trip in France, he meets a gendarme.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 10
Kudos: 407





	Hello!! I can't speak French!

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm working on a long fic and should be just focusing on that but no... this had to come out of me.  
> It's unbeta'd by anyone, not even myself if I'm completely honest.
> 
> I hope people enjoy this as much as I enjoyed imagining it.  
> Do not copy anywhere thanks.
> 
> Translated in Italian by MissObrechlin [Non so parlare francese!](https://efpfanfic.net/viewstory.php?sid=3898130&i=1)  
> 
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://fairydustedtheory.tumblr.com/tagged/plot%20twist%20:%20i%20write)

"Putain mais c'est quoi ce gosse ?" The middle aged officer muttered under his breath as he pressed the button to unlock the gate and let a lanky kid in the building. "Hale !" He called out to the hallway.

Stiles quickly jogged to the front desk and drummed his fingers on the counter-top as the officer, instead of greeting him, called out again : "Hale ! Viens t'occuper de ca. T'es le seul qui parle anglais et je suis vraiment pas d'humeur."

"Oui, lieutenant," a younger man said as he went to the front desk. "Bonsoir," he said to Stiles.

"Bonsoir," Stiles tried his best accent.

"Follow me," Hale said, opening a part of the counter to let Stiles into the hallway and guide him into a room. Stiles breathed a little easier because the man seemed to speak English and with an accent letting Stiles guess he might very well be American too. But it was hard to tell from just two words.

Hale sat down at a desk with a computer and gestured to Stiles to take a seat in the chair in front of him.

"Okay, I'm Derek Hale and I've been assigned to your case so I'm listening." Derek said, in a very professional tone. American sounded about right to Stiles. "Can you start by giving me your name ?"

"Stiles Stilinski."

"A real name would be helpful." Derek narrowed his eyes.

"Some dumb kids just stole my phone !" Stiles blurted out, overwhelmed by the feeling of finally be in the presence of someone to whom he could speak and be understood. "God, what is a guy supposed to do in this country ? I don't speak French ! I just had the brilliant idea of backpacking around Europe for the summer because that sounded great in my head, Jesus Fuck. But now I'm here in this goddamn country and nobody speaks English ?"

"Yeah, this city isn't big enough for that. There's only the few British women who fell in love with the country and bought a summer home... they're all retired so no surprise you haven't met them." Hale supplied and yeah, Stiles wasn't kin on getting frisky with grannies on his summer vacation.

"Worse than that though, some people don't even want to try to understand me ? Like seriously, I'm lost, my phone is dead and I need to charge it to locate my hotel, right ? I come into this one shop, a bakery, that's still open, why is everything closing so early here ? And I'm trying so hard to be clear to the owner that I just really need to charge my phone, yeah ? I show him my dead phone and my charger and I ask if I can borrow an outlet for a few minutes. He just stares at me like I'm an alien out of a spaceship. Ok, maybe that's what I look like." He threw his arms up as he sighed dramatically.

Derek tried hard to keep a straight face, pulled in his lips to keep the smile in. The younger man was babbling fast and adding questions marks everywhere and Derek was as irritated as he was entertained.

"I'm trying hard like I'm fucking miming the action of plugging a charger into an outlet in the wall." Stiles continued and he actually mimed it again. "Still nothing ! They had their outlets behind the counter so I just frantically gestured at them like _this is what I need please_ ? The guy just stares at me blankly ???" Stiles was a mess of over dramatic gestures at this point, all his anxiety and stress flying out of him through his projected fingers. "I go like ''I need electricity, electricitad ? Electricité ?'' Fuck, I'm pretty sure _électricité_ is the right word but he just doesn't move or try anything."

"Electricité is right, yes." Derek said but Stiles wasn't listening.

"Is anyone willing to help a guy out in this country ? This is awful. So I'm about to give up, yeah, and think I'm just going to get lost into the evening air and spend the night outside. But then I spot a fucking outlet hidden under a table there and honestly I could have heard angels sing because Halle- freaking-lujah!" Stiles closed his eyes, his hands praising the lord. "Of course, I'm required to order something and I really don't want to because that guy was so awful but I need his outlet so I just let it go and sit down. I plug my phone in and in two seconds it turns back on and I can unlock it and ugh, I'm just so close I can almost feel the clean sheets of the bed in my hotel room. Honestly, it's the one time I decided on a nice little hotel because I was getting sick of the auberges de jeunesse. I need a good night sleep ! This trip isn't as great as I would have envisioned it but well, I guess it's the price of... discoveries and travelling, it's still worth something, right ? So I'm there and the guy goes out back and I'm alone in the bakery when two kids come in."

Derek turned to the computer to type a few words then.

"A boy and a girl." Stiles precised, maybe that detail was relevant to the case. "You'd think they were harmless but then, they come and talk to me ? In French ? And hello ! I don't understand French ! Then as the girl is talking and trying to keep my attention, I see the boy reach into my backpack, which yes rookie mistake on my part, is open on the chair next to me. I react and grab my wallet back and tell him _''don't you dare steal from me !''_ with my strongest death glare. The girl is still talking excitedly and fuck, I just shout at them to get the hell out of my face and I sort of hope the bakery owner will come back because at least he would know how to get the kids out of there, no ? He doesn't come, the asshole. He's just doing his things in the backroom of his shop." Stiles sighed loudly. "The kids finally leave and I think I'm safe but when I reach for my phone... there's no phone. The fucking charger is plugged in, oh yes, I have électricité all I want but I only have the cord on my lap and no more fucking phone. So of course, as I realize that, I try to run out the shop after them. They're not stupid, they're not hanging around there so I can't see them and there's nowhere I can try to follow. I go back in and call for the guy and well, I guess he's nice enough to walk back in the room. I try hard to explain what just happened and I guess ''phone volé'' sounds right enough because he tells me to go to the gendarmerie and sort of gives me directions to get here. The only silver lining in the whole story to be honest is the gendarmerie is two blocks from that bakery so I managed to not get lost again and came here. That's the whole thing. So now, if you could just please track my phone maybe ? Just log in into my account and you'll find it and the thief and we can go get it and I'll go back to my horrible day."

"That won't happen." Derek said blankly, still typing on his keyboard, eyes focused on the computer screen.

"I'm sorry what ?"

"We're not going to waste resources to go track a stolen phone. This is not a big city but it's not a little village on the countryside with nothing going on either. We have more urgent issues and no offense but I'd rather be honest and tell you no one is going to follow this through. What I can do is have you sign this declaration of lost/stolen item and you can give that to your insurance and see if they'll pay for a new one." Derek explained, retrieving the paper as soon as it was printed out and sliding it on the table in front of Stiles.

"What ? But the phone is right there !"

"Sorry." Derek didn't sound sorry at all.

"That's bullshit !" Stiles said, rolling his eyes and letting out a groan, before reaching for the paper and signing the spot to which Derek was pointing with his index.

Derek took the paper again and made a copy and handed it to Stiles, before going to stand by the door, clearly as a sign to Stiles that it was time to leave.

"Great." Stiles muttered, eyes staring at the floor. The paper wasn't even with his real name, but Stiles figured it didn't really matter if nobody planned on doing anything about his phone and he had no insurance so the paper was just a piece of trash. He just wasted his time.

Stiles left the gendarmerie without another word. He truly was defeated then. The sun was setting and there was little he could do now. He didn't even remember the name of the hotel he had booked. Everything was on his phone. When had he become so dependent on this thing ? Fuck this.

He just walked around and a few blocks away he saw a McDonald's. That, at least, he was familiar with. The writings on the glass door seemed to indicated the establishment was open until 11pm so that gave him a couple hours and he still had his wallet. He could get some food in his stomach.

*-*-*

About an hour, a cheeseburger and two servings of fries later, Stiles' head jerked up as he felt the doors next to his table open and the cashier eagerly called to someone.

"Derek ! Ca y est, tu as fini ta journée ?" The woman asked like it was something she did every day.

"Oui, ca y est je suis de repos, Je travaille pas cette nuit." Derek said and stopped as his head turned and his eyes landed on Stiles. He turned away and went to one of the touch screens to order.

Stiles spied a little and of course, the guy ordered a chicken Caesar salad, Stiles should have known. Someone cannot be built like that gendarme and eat junk food on the regular. Stiles let his head fall back on his hands resting on the table and groaned.

Stiles' head jerked back up again when someone slid in front of him in his booth.

"The fuck ?" Stiles startled and Derek frowned at him.

"I'm already regretting this." Derek said, his face scrunched up in evident disgust with the situation. "But... Did you manage to find your hotel ?"

"Nope" Stiles squinted his eyes, a forced smile on his lips that was riddled with frustration.

"I could, maybe, drive you there ?" Derek offered.

And okay, this was nice but Stiles was done with the whole day and really wanted to sleep. "Don't bother, I don't know where it is and I don't know the name or I would have managed to ask someone the right directions by now."

"I could maybe drive you to any hotel and see if they have a room ?"

"Listen, officer," Stiles shook his head. "you're trying to be nice. It's very much appreciated – it doesn't look like it, I know, because I'm fucking done with today and probably done with tomorrow too – but there's nothing I can afford. I have very little budget for this trip, and last I checked the auberges were full and I had enough money for this one hotel night and now the money is gone and if I want to be able to eat for the next week I can't pay for another one." Stiles finished rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly.

Derek sighed loudly. "Alright."

"Thanks anyway." Stiles said as a goodbye. Derek didn't move though.

The McDonald employee brought him his salad then. Derek gave her a little nod of appreciation.

"Alright." Derek repeated once she had left. "Alright... I've been working non-stop for way too long or I would offer to drive you around town and check all the hotels but, uh -"

"It's fine, don't bother." Stiles cut in.

Derek seemed to have an internal debate. His eyebrows were in deep conversation with his forehead. "I have a decent couch." was his conclusion.

"What ?" Stiles questioned as Derek stood up with a tight smile.

"Come on," Derek grabbed the plastic box of his salad and gestured for Stiles to follow.

"What !" Stiles exclaimed as he hopped out of the booth, his feet getting tangled with the table and almost landed face first on the McDonald's tiled floor.

"Come on." Derek scowled. "I'm already regretting this." he added to himself, rubbing his free hand over his face.

"Tu pars déjà, Derek ?" The McDonald cashier called out.

"Oui, bonne soirée." Derek replied, barely glancing back at her, as Stiles was regaining his balance enough to catch up to him.

"She clearly has a crush on you." Stiles said in a hushed tone.

"She can if she likes. But I'm gay." Derek seemed unfazed by the statement.

"Oh, woah" Stiles' eyes widened. Derek started walking towards the door and Stiles swung around flailing his arms before following him. "You could really end her suffering... That's not nice to let her pine over you."

"She hasn't made a move so I don't see why I should expose myself to a complete stranger."

"Uh, dude. No offense, but" Stiles gestured to himself. "Stranger, hello !"

Derek rolled his eyes before taking out his car keys and unlocking a Toyota. The lights blinked brightly in the new obscurity of the evening. "You want my couch or not ?"

"Yes ! Yes, the couch I want." Stiles shot back, opening the car door and dropping his body ungracefully in the passenger seat.

Derek sat down behind the wheel and took a second to look back at Stiles.

Stiles cleared his throat, his hands running up and down his thighs nervously. "That's not the moment where you murder me, right ?"

Derek just shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Oh my God, you're a terrible person !" Stiles feigned being outraged but his grin was giving him away. "I should have guessed it from the salad alone ! Never trust someone who orders a salad from McDonald's !"

"If you want to sleep on a bench in the park tonight, be my guest, but you don't know what can happen to a cute guy out there at night." Derek leaned back against his seat, his face blank.

Stiles clutched his chest. "Wait. You think I'm cute ?"

Derek's eyebrows shot up but he didn't answer. He tore his gaze away from Stiles and turned the key in the ignition and pulled the car back on the road.

"I don't live far."

"Officer Derek Hale... Are you hiding something from me ?" Stiles teased. "because if this is the start of porno I'd like to be informed of my rights right away."

Derek literally choked and started coughing. Stiles burst out laughing.

"Dude..." Stiles said still laughing. "You made my day so much better."

*-*-*

Derek parked the car in front of a three story building. Stiles looked out and stared a second at the florist shop in front of him.

"Before you say anything, I'm not buying you flowers. That's just where I live. Second floor." Derek said before getting out of the car and leading Stiles into the building.

Stiles stayed strangely silent the whole way up the stairs.

"Dude... I don't think I already told you but thank you for this." He said quietly.

"So what's your name ?" Derek asked when he closed the door of his apartment.

"Uh, it's Stiles. As I told you back at the station." Stiles said frowning.

"That can't be your real name. How am I supposed to look you up on the Interpol hit-list ?" Derek crossed his arms over his chest, but he didn't sound accusatory at all.

"You're right, it's not. You'll have to check my ID because I'm never going to say that name out loud." Stiles smiled. "Why are you helping me ?"

"I have no idea." Derek admitted. "It just seemed right."

Stiles licked his lips and could see Derek's eyes following the movement. "Maybe you should kiss me." He sighed. "Because you're insanely attractive."

"That's not a good idea." Derek shook his head, and went to take a seat at the small table in the kitchen area of his apartment. He opened the box of his salad, and focused all his attention on pouring the dressing evenly on top.

"Why are you here, Derek, in France I mean ? You don't sound French." Stiles said inviting himself to sit on the opposite side of Derek on the only other chair available in the apartment.

"My father was French. I have both nationalities, and the choice was easily made when I couldn't stand America anymore." Derek said before forking into a piece of fried chicken.

"Oh, I can relate to that... I'm not sure how I stand it myself." Stiles snorted. "I'm not doing great since I basically dropped everything and took only my backpack and my little savings to come to Europe for as long as I could manage."

Derek ate his salad in silence and only hummed in agreement. Stiles waited and slouched back into his chair.

"What were you running from ?" Stiles asked, words barely audible.

Derek let out a loud huff. "That's too long of a story for tonight. I just really want to sleep and it's pretty obvious that you do too." Derek stood up and gestured to Stiles to follow. "I'll go get you a blanket and pillow and then I'll hop in the shower."

"Hey, way to trust a stranger in your apartment." Stiles' head tilted, surprised and amused.

"There's absolutely nothing to steal here. And if you want to murder me, I'm pretty sure I can take you on even wet and naked in the shower." Derek said matter-of-factly.

Stiles made an unintelligible noise and Derek had the audacity of smirking back as he stretched to get a clean blanket and pillow from the top of his closet and dropped them in Stiles' arms.

"Stiles, can you get out of my room now ?"

"Uh... yeah, yup, going." Stiles babbled, walking backward to the door and slamming into the wall and cursing under his breath.

Stiles quickly put the blanket and pillow on the couch and went to the door to retrieve his backpack where he had left it. He went to brush his teeth in the kitchen sink and wondered if he should just sleep in the clothes he was wearing or bother changing.  
He run his fingers through his hair nervously. This wasn't a porno but fuck, he sort of wished it would be. This Derek guy made him shiver in all the right ways.

The apartment was bare of any personal items, no picture of any friends or family. The only decoration was a large poster of a forest above the couch, it reminded Stiles of home.

The water turned off and Stiles could hear Derek going to his closet and moving the hangers around. He was surprised to hear the door click open a little later.

"You're not asleep." Derek murmured for no reason except maybe because he was so sure Stiles would be that his brain had already sent the signals to his body to be quiet.

"Guess not." Stiles said awkwardly. He was dead on his feet, but he really didn't know how to act. Stiles' eyes were distracted by Derek's hair, still slowly dripping water on the side of his neck.

"Do you need the bathroom ?" Derek offered. "You could take a shower if you want, that could calm your nerves."

Stiles sighed, yes a shower actually sounded pretty good right now. He pulled a clean change of clothes from his backpack. It was his last one, he'll have to find a laundromat in the morning. He was almost positive that white-grey thing he had seen next to the gardening store had been a few washing machines. He'd have to go back there and check it out.

"If you put your clothes in the machine now, it will be done when you get out of the shower and they might be dry by the morning." Derek supplied, gesturing to the kitchen where the washing machine was sitting between the sink and the wall.

"Am I that easy to read ?" Stiles snorted. Derek didn't answer and just stepped back into his room.

Stiles went and did what he was told. Put all his clothes in the machine, opened a few drawers and cabinets to find the box of Ariel pods.  
When he stepped through Derek's bedroom door to get to the bathroom, the man was already asleep in his bed. He must have been out as soon as his head had hit the pillow, Stiles was envious for a second, he never fell asleep that easily.

The only product available in Derek's shower was a pink bottle of peach scented Petit Marseillais shower gel. Stiles shook his head with a mocking smile on his lips, imagining Officer Derek Hale arresting people while smelling of peach.

*-*-*

  
At dawn, the faint morning light started flowing past the edges of the curtains and Derek awoke slowly, something felt somewhat strange and he didn't realize what it was until he saw his bedroom door semi-opened. He never let his bedroom door opened at night. He remembered Stiles then.

The younger man was sprawled all over the couch, a leg propped up on the backrest, his head hung low on the side, mouth open.  
His laundry randomly put to dry on the back of the chairs and the knobs of the kitchen cabinets.

Derek huffed out a loud breath.

*-*-*

"So where are you headed next ?" Derek started when they were sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"Oh I thought about going up to Nantes, I don't know, is that a place to see ?" Stiles shrugged. "And then maybe go to Belgium or Luxembourg ? I don't feel like going to Paris. Paris is where everyone goes and what everyone thinks about when they think about travelling to France and I don't want that. I wanted to see the other side of France, that's how I got lost here. I didn't plan it, I just hopped off the train. And that's basically what I plan to keep doing."

"So... you don't have train tickets and hotel booked ?" Derek asked, brow furrowed.

"Nah, and I don't have my phone anymore so I'll just wing it."

"Or you could just st –"

Stiles' eyebrows shot up, incredulous. "What... Stay ?"

Derek's eyes were wide like he was surprised with himself for even saying the words that he hadn't actually uttered out loud, but still the idea of them. Wow.

"Just a few days." Derek finally said. "Get some rest and figure out what you're going to do and maybe find a new phone ?"

"A few days..." Stiles repeated, his tongue darted out to lick at his half parted lips. Derek was not even trying to tear his gaze away anymore. "I guess I could... stay."

Derek's whole body moved of his own accord and his hands were on the back of Stiles' neck pulling him closer and his mouth was on Stiles', opening to him. Stiles almost whimpered.

"Finally" Stiles breathed.

*-*-*

He did stay more than a few days. He actually stayed until the end of his Schengen visa.

Stiles used his travel money to cook some better meals than McDonald's salads for Derek. The sounds coming out of Derek's mouth the first time he tasted Stiles' homemade lasagna were so sinful Stiles almost fell off his chair.

Stiles learned a little French, who would have thought. He was able to understand most of what was said in the TV show he watched the evenings Derek was working night shifts. He was even able to go to the bakery and buy a baguette and croissants all by himself and without using a word of English.

He didn't see much of Europe in the end. Derek insisted on driving around the countryside and see what was to see when he was not working as to not deprive Stiles of his summer experiences. Stiles found he had plenty of summer experiences even without leaving Derek's apartment but couldn't complain because the make out session they had against a wall of the Carcassonne Castle might be the best Stiles had experienced in all his life.

They even drove down to the sea one weekend. The image of Derek's golden body from a day at the beach would haunt Stiles' dreams for years to come. He wouldn't forget Derek's laugh either, the one when he had called Stiles "une écrevisse" and laughed so hard he had actual tears. Stiles' skin didn't take so well to the French sun apparently and looked ridiculously red for a whole week.  
Derek bit down his mocking smiles every time he looked at Stiles but there was nothing he could do against the twinkle in his eyes.

"Lay it on me," Stiles said gesturing both hands repeatedly towards himself. "Your poker face sucks, dude. You're obviously dying to mock me."

Derek only came to lay kisses on him, Stiles was glad.

*-*-*

Then, one day, it was time to plan the trip home. Stiles' junior year of college would be starting in a matter of days and his visa expiration date was soon approaching.  
Derek's whole behavior started changing, he became a little more distant. He would consciously turn away from Stiles while they were sleeping in the bed, just to relearn to sleep alone. Stiles let it be. He would have much preferred spending every single second glued to Derek's side but he needed to relearn to sleep alone too. His heart didn't agree.

Derek drove to the airport in silence, barely looking at Stiles.

His eyes closed when he felt Stiles' hand press on his thigh, fingers clawing at the material of his jeans.

"You're going to miss me." Stiles said with a soft smile.

"Shut up." Derek countered but there was no strength behind it.

"You don't want me to go." Stiles continued. "You've never wanted me to go. From the day we met, you never wanted me to go."

" _Stiles._ " Derek's brow furrowed deeper, he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"I'll come back." Stiles promised, staring at the side of Derek's face.

He finally opened his eyes and looked back at Stiles then. "Don't say that."

"But I will. I don't know how or when but I will. If I say so, it will happen. I usually get what I want, you know."

"Oh, I know." Derek said with a fond smile. "But California... it's the other side of the world, Stiles."

"No it's not... That'd be New Zealand."

Derek just huffed.

"I had a wonderful summer." Stiles admitted. He looked away, watching the other cars coming in the express parking lot for people only here to pick up or drop off someone. He secretly wished they were parked in the long-term parking lot and he could just leave the car and take Derek with him on the plane. That was stupid though. "Is this adieu ?"

"I guess so." Derek said through gritted teeth.

  
Stiles silently nodded.

He got out of the car with his backpack and his boarding pass and passport in hand. He had barely made one step in the direction of the building when Derek's door flew open and he jumped out in one smooth motion.

Stiles cocked his head. "You couldn't even wait until I was actually in the building to chase after me ?"

  
Derek sighed loudly and quickly made his way around the car and kissed Stiles, sweet and slow.

"It doesn't have to be over," Stiles murmured against Derek's lips.

Derek pulled back enough to look into Stiles' amber eyes in the rising sunlight. "It can't be over, Mieczyslaw."

Stiles slapped him on the arm at the use of his name. Derek smiled, proud of himself.

*-*-*

The school year started and the first thing Stiles did was run to the admission office and ask about the exchange program with France. He begged, actually begged on his knees, his adviser to write him a recommendation letter.

It was too late they said, all the available spots for Juniors had been filled and his adviser wouldn't recommend leaving during his Senior year when he'll have his thesis to work on. Senior year wouldn't do it for Stiles anyway, that was in way too long.

Stiles spent as much time tracking down the future exchange students as he did actually going to class that fall semester, if not more. By the end of October, he had finally managed to find that one girl who was not so sure she wanted to go away in the spring.  
She wasn't majoring in French so Stiles didn't feel too guilty when he convinced her that she should stay and let him take her place instead. He was not majoring in French himself either but she couldn't know that.

His adviser still said it was too late, that applications had been done months ago. Stiles begged again, he was getting good at it, he begged the admission office too. He even begged the Dean.

Finally, after a couple of weeks, somebody listened and told him they were going to take a look. Stiles wasn't majoring in the same field as the girl who was supposed to go so it wouldn't be the exact same university. Paperwork were to be looked into. They had to change the records but everything had been paid for in terms of fees and housing. That would be a waste of money to not send out a student. And most importantly, the college was actually welcoming an exchange student from France on scholarship and if they didn't send anyone back that just wouldn't look so good in terms of the relationship between faculties.

God, he was so close. Stiles could almost taste the disgustingly buttery Paris Brest he had insisted on buying from the bakery across the street from Derek's apartment. Derek had warned him the baker wasn't a great pastry chef but Stiles only believed it when he spent the afternoon bent in half because of the unimaginable stomach ache it caused him.

*-*-*

"Hey babe," the voice on the phone said softly. Stiles couldn't remember when he started being babe but he never wanted to go back to a time when he wasn't.

"Hey, dude !" Stiles smiled. Derek would always be dude. "Woah, it's late for you... Were you working nights ? Are you heading home ? » Stiles had just finished his last class for the day and was hanging around the hall trying to decide if he wanted to wait for his friend Scott or just go back to his dorm.

"Yeah. Are you still on campus ?"

"Yeah..." Stiles sighed loudly. "This semester will be the death of me. My professors are already talking about final exams and it feels like it was just yesterday we had to hand in our assignments..."

"Oh, so you're busy ?"

"Not right now." Stiles said. Never for you, he wanted to add. He was still so giddy about Derek, hoped he would always feel this giddy. Even if he was busy he would press pause on anything to talk to him a little while. They were so often out of sync with the time difference.

"Could you go out to the parking lot then ?"

"The... what ?" Stiles frowned.

"The parking lot." Derek repeated, his voice completely neutral.

"What... What ?!" Stiles exclaimed, suddenly hit by a thought. "Don't trick me, Derek, I swear to God..." Derek didn't say anything more and Stiles' agitation was growing with each passing second. _"Derek, don't mess with me."_ He said in a low voice accentuating each word with threat. He didn't know what he was threatening but he was threatening something.

Derek still didn't answer and Stiles had to check the screen of his phone to make sure the call hadn't disconnected. It hadn't. Derek huffed out a small laugh on the other side of the line. And fuck, Stiles was running then, all flailing of arms and legs everywhere.

"MOVE !" He shouted to the students in the hallway. "GET OUT OF MY WAY !!"

He got there panting and looked frantically around him because Derek had to be there, he had to be. But he wasn't.

Stiles pulled his phone back to his ear. Oh, he was getting almost angry now. _"Where are you ?"_

"I'm here." Derek said.

Stiles heard it in stereo. His heart jumped. He turned around and was met by a armful of Derek crushing him into a hug.

"You're here." Stiles said, more to calm his breathing than to state the obvious.

Derek picked him up, Stiles pulling his legs around Derek's waist. Stiles stared down at him for a few seconds, like he was taking it all in, and then kissed him.

"Finally" Derek mumbled against Stiles' lips. They both grinned.

Stiles let himself be put down on the ground. "What are you doing here ?" He asked, before shaking his head, changing his mind. This wasn't the time for questions, it was still the time for kissing. Stiles intended to do just that for a long while. They were months behind on their kissing quota.

They heard someone whistle from somewhere. "Woooh, get it Stiles !"

  
Stiles chuckled and ducked his head in the crook of Derek's neck. "That's my friend Scott."

  
"Sounds like a good friend." Derek smiled, his eyes never leaving Stiles. He licked his lips trying to taste Stiles on them again.

  
"How are you here ?" Stiles questioned again. They had a hard time finding the right moments to talk these days. They turned to texting and waiting hours for the other to answer. Stiles always felt that rush when he woke up and saw a few messages from Derek on the screen. But it wasn't the best. This was definitely the best. Derek, here, touchable, all eyes and teeth and stubble.

  
"I swam."

"Ha-ha, listen to you joke." Stiles squinted his eyes but his smile betrayed him.  
  
"I could get more consecutive days off now than I would during the holidays. And I realized that I had been without you for as many days as I had been with you... and that was –" Derek trailed off.  
  
"Not acceptable." Stiles nodded frantically biting down on his lower lip. He had been counting the days too. 

*-*-*

Derek stayed until after Thanksgiving.  
  
Stiles' dad was a little taken aback by the surprise guest. He half thought that Stiles' boyfriend-from-France had been imaginary and that the pictures on Stiles' phone were photo-shopped. He couldn't put it past his son to do something like that. Still, he had wondered why Stiles had barely any pictures to show from all his summer travels. Kids going on backpack trips around Europe are supposed to take pictures and yet his son came home with a new phone and barely a handful of pictures to show.

  
"This is what you did this summer, son ?" Noah said to Stiles in his best Sheriff voice, as they had barely passed the threshold of the Stilinski house.

Derek retained his composure but his ears were bright red. The authoritative voice of a superior worked well on him.

Stiles clapped his dad on the back. "Good one, dad ! I missed you too."

Derek devoured the Thanksgiving dinner like a wolf starving after winter. He explained that he had barely eaten anything other than cheap pasta for the last couple of months in order to save enough money for his flight. Noah could appreciate a man with his priorities set right.

Stiles took him aside after dinner. He smirked as he ran his hands on Derek's sides.

"That's how these little love handles got there then." Stiles whispered low, trying to contain the flush threatening to cover his cheeks. "I'm gonna put them to good use."

Derek couldn't even feel embarrassed, he wanted so much of Stiles.

*-*-*

Stiles received the e-mail about his student exchange the Monday following Thanksgiving weekend. He was in ! He jumped and shouted so high and loud that the students in the common room where he was sitting all startled and some grabbed their chests in a pretend heart attack.

  
Stiles ran to his dorm room. Derek was sorting his bag to prepare for his flight back to France. His passport on the desk and everything was in order.

"That's my shirt," Stiles said as a way of greeting. He was panting, leaning on the door-frame for support.

"I'm deliberately choosing to make a mistake and pack one of your shirts in my bag. Sue me." Derek replied without a glance back. He continued folding Stiles' shirt neatly and tucking it in his bag before looking up with that smirk on his lips, the one that always leaved Stiles breathless.

"I got in. The exchange program. I got in." Stiles couldn't keep it in.

"You what..."

"It won't be in your town but I managed. I fucking managed." Stiles' grin was blinding. "I'll be an hour away."

Derek's eyes were huge. "An hour away ?"

"Toulouse, here I come !"

Derek dropped his bag on the ground. "Fuck." He breathed out, leaving his mouth agape as the words escaped him.

"This is not goodbye."  
  


*-*-*

Stiles would be damned if he missed his train after his last class of the day.

He had all his housing needs prearranged for the semester by his college. It was okay. He had even put some of his stuff there, some posters and even some video games. He quite liked his tiny 9 square meter bedroom, but really how could he possibly stay in Toulouse when he had Derek right there, just a train ride away.

There was just one RER train at 7pm that stopped in the right town. Stiles wouldn't miss that one train for the world.

"You never hang out with us," a girl from his class told him as he was already grabbing his bag and ready to bolt out the door. "Tu devrais vivre à la française un peu."  
  


Stiles frowned at her, he had plenty of French experiences, he didn't need her advice. So what if he hadn't bothered making connections with people in his classes, or his professors. He was just getting by, learning some French and acing classes that turned out to be so easy he had done most of that work his Freshman year or even in high-school for some parts. He wasn't here for that. That was one of the reasons his adviser hadn't been excited by the idea. He had known the studying abroad experience in Stiles' case wouldn't actually require a lot of studying. Maybe it was a waste of time, maybe it wasn't.

He was here because, although he loved his dad and his friend Scott, his heart had been missing something until he came here.  
Stiles really didn't care much about meeting up with a bunch of French people and drinking wine and eating cheese from different cheese plates and discussing the different textures and strength of aroma. Alright, so he knew enough to be sure that wasn't what young French students did in the evenings. But getting drunk on cheap alcohol while blasting off Gims on their Bluetooth speakers was not really his scene either.

Stiles just shrugged at the girl and left.

*-*-*

  
"Fucking French trains." Stiles cursed in the hall of the train station.

The workers decided today was a good day to be on strike. All trains were cancelled except the TGVs that only stopped in the big cities. He wouldn't be getting back to Derek tonight.

Stiles sighed, trying to swallow his disappointment. It wasn't such a big deal, he could sleep without a warm body next to his. He could sleep without Derek's peach scented hair brushing against his neck as Derek kissed his shoulder blades.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "No train tonight :/" he texted.

*-*-*

Stiles was desperately trying to stream a movie on his laptop that evening. The wifi around the university was crap. It wasn't even worth trying to load a video on YouTube so there really was no point in trying Netflix but Stiles had nothing else to do and he was a stubborn kind of man.

There was a knock on his door. Stiles glared at the general direction of the hallway.

"I swear to God, Kévin, if you're high and lost your keys again, I'm going to punch you in the -" Stiles stopped as he opened the door and it was not in fact Kévin.

"Hello, I have been called about a noise complaint." Derek said, still in his gendarme uniform.

"Has someone sent me a surprise stripper ?" Stiles looked over to him with a brow raised in question.

"This is free of charge" Derek snorted as he came right into Stiles' space and closed the door behind him.

Stiles wiggled his eyebrows. "My favorite kind of stripper."

Derek kissed him to shut him up. Stiles pushed him back against the door, deepening the kiss and unzipping Derek's blue jacket.

"Careful or I'll think you can't live without me." Stiles murmured against Derek's ear.

*-*-*

Derek opened the door to his apartment, not caring one bit about how much noise he was making at this hour of the night. He had been on duty well into the early hours of the morning because of a stupid drunken group of tourists wreaking havoc in the city center. He walked in and promptly flopped down on the living room couch.  
Stiles came out of the bedroom a few minutes later. He stayed silent and only grabbed a thin cotton blanket that was lying on the back of a chair and climbed on the couch next to him. He grabbed Derek's shoulder and tugged insistently until he let himself fall against Stiles' chest.

"Summer sucks." Derek groaned, and clearly his mood wasn't just caused by the disruptions in town.

“Yeah... Listen,” the younger man whispered against Derek's hair. “I know there's a conversation to have here. And you might not be ready to have it just yet. I'm just going to be here, right here for you, and hold you if that's okay.”

“Okay.” Derek breathed quietly.

They stayed quiet for a long moment, just breathing each other.

"Come home with me !" Stiles blurted out. "Oh God, I said it..." He took in a sharp breath. "Listen, I've been thinking, over and over. I still have a year of school left and even then... I have my dad and my friends. It's one thing to leave for a few months or even a year, but I couldn't leave them forever... But I can't leave you. Either." Stiles sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "God. I feel so selfish asking this. I can't ask you this, leaving all you've built here ?"

Derek frowned. "What have I built here ?"

"I don't know.. A life ? A career ?" Stiles shrugged.

"You think the couple of years I've been working as a gendarme mean anything to me ?" Derek pulled his eyebrows in.

"Fuck, I don't know. What are you saying ?"

"I'm saying I couldn't ask you to stay. I knew you wouldn't – couldn't – stay. I couldn't ask you to marry me over this."

"What –"

"What I've been running from, all the pain and the hurt and the loneliness, none of that exists when I'm with you." Derek confessed.

"What are you saying ?" Stiles repeated, his voice trembled, eyes filling up.

"I'm in love with you, I want to be with you." Derek said, then he looked down a second. "If you want me ?"

"How dare you look so uncertain when you say that ? I'm the one who asked !" Stiles' whole body tensed up. He was a little bit outraged right now. "What ? Were you gonna just let me leave ?"

Derek didn't answer anything.

"You self-sacrificing bastard !" Stiles shook his head.

*-*-*

Stiles was completely stunned that Derek was actually serious about all this. He just stared, mouth gaping when Derek strode into the gendarmerie and told his lieutenant about his intention to quit. Stiles wasn't really sure about the whole process of quitting such a job but Derek's mind was set and he could very well be as stubborn as Stiles was so it all worked out in the end.

Derek went into McDonald's one day to put a flyer on the counter where all the ads were. The cashier took it right away out of his hands.

"Derek, ça fait un bail ! » She said smiling. It had been ages Derek hadn't come in, yeah. He was surprised she hadn't forgotten about him. "Tu déménages ?" She asked, frowning at the paper in her hands.

"Oui, je repars aux US avec mon copain." Derek said innocently. Stiles had dared him to come out to her before leaving. He couldn't let it go and knowing Stiles, Derek would never hear the end of that-French-girl-you-let-pine-over-you-for-all-eternity so he was forced to do it. He deliberately looked away to avoid seeing the incredulous face in front of him.

She didn't say anything about the revelation. But she did smile and say she knew someone who would be willing to rent his apartment and buy all his furniture. Derek smiled back. This was perfect.

They had to sell the car too.

Stiles regretted saying goodbye to the couch, his infamous decent couch. And saying goodbye to the car. He had made some sweet memories in that car during their road trips. Holding Derek's hand while singing along to songs he didn't understand. Parking somewhere somewhat hidden from the main road and doing things in the back seat no gendarme should be willing to do but Derek did.

Stiles might miss France a little bit.

But he was bringing the most important part of it with him.

  
*-*-*

Noah agreed to hire Derek as a deputy. Stiles didn't even have to beg. Noah had really thought he wouldn't get his son back this time. He knew his heart too well and how Stiles couldn't do things half-way. Stiles wouldn't have been able to break his own heart. Noah was certain he would have stayed in France if Derek had refused to leave, he could only be thankful to the guy.

Mostly, Noah really enjoyed the whole verification process and background investigation he was now legitimated in doing on his son's boyfriend. His professional interview also primarily consisted on "What are your intentions towards my only son ?"

Derek got flustered because more than a sheriff in front of him, this was what he was sure was his future father in law. He of course ended up spilling all the beans about how gone he was for Stiles.

The whole precinct was watching behind the glass window and laughter could be heard echoing from all sides of the building. Derek wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"Good kid." Noah concluded, putting a hand on Derek's shoulder.

*-*-*

"I just want to say..." Stiles broke the quiet stillness of their bedroom one evening. "Bless these kids."

"What kids ?" Derek mumbled, already half asleep, Stiles' body glued to his back.

"The ones who stole my phone." Stiles smiled against the angle of Derek's jaw.

"Oh... about that." Derek leaned closer into Stile's touch. "I never told you but I ended up looking into it after we had had a couple more complaints. It turned out the kids are actually the baker's children. It was a whole thing."

"No kidding, now you're telling me this ?!" Stiles jerked up, arms flailing, before letting himself fall back on the bed next to Derek with a groan. "I should have known, that guy really was an asshole."

"I'm glad." Derek murmured, turning to look at Stiles with a smile.

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed the story, consider leaving a kudo/comment.  
> Find me on [tumblr](https://fairydustedtheory.tumblr.com/tagged/plot%20twist%20:%20i%20write)


End file.
